The Red Sox have promoted right-hander Allen Webster to pitch in the nightcap of tomorrow’s double-header against the Royals, reports Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Webster was acquired in last August’s megadeal with the Dodgers, which saw Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford, and Nick Punto move to the West coast.

Webster is expected to be sent back to Triple-A Pawtucket immediately after his start, but it is still a praiseworthy promotion for the young hurler, who was rated the #49 overall prospect going into the 2013 season by Baseball America. In two starts spanning ten innings at Triple-A, he had a 0.90 ERA with 12 strikeouts and three walks.

Lauber points out that MLB’s rules allow teams to add a 26th player for double-headers, which means the Red Sox don’t need to make any other moves to make room for Webster’s one-day promotion.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports Thursday that the Orioles “are said to have begun fielding calls of interest” on superstar Manny Machado and “are close to the point of seriously weighing whether to trade him.”

You’d think it would be a no-brainer for the last-place O’s to flip Machado — an impending free agent — for prospects, but Heyman notes there is “still a question whether or not longtime Orioles owner Peter Angelos” will give the go-ahead. One person familiar with the situation put it a “50-50” likelihood. Another suggested that it would take a massive return, which, sure.

Machado entered play Thursday with a sensational .328/.405/.635 batting line, 15 home runs, and an MLB-leading 43 RBI in 49 games. It’d be a real shock if he’s still wearing an O’s uniform by the end of July.

Heyman reported previously that at least nine teams made aggressive plays for Machado this winter, including the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Indians, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, and Cardinals. A whole lot of those teams still make sense here in late May — maybe all of them except the White Sox.